CEO pay packages across the S&P 500 rose nearly 11% in 2025 compared with 2024 – and media and entertainment led all sectors with an eye-opening 117% surge.
That was one of the key findings in an analysis released Monday by proxy advisory firm ISS-Corporate.
The influential firm examined executive compensation packages related to the 318 S&P 500 companies whose annual shareholder meetings are held on or after January 1, 2026. Companies were included only if the CEO was in the same role in the current and previous filing years. Median CEO pay across the board came in at $17.7 million, a bar easily cleared by a majority of media and entertainment CEOs.
The No. 2 sector was Consumer Discretionary Distribution & Retail, with a median increase of 29.6%.
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Public companies are reported to file proxies with the SEC laying out executive compensation in advance of annual meetings. Shareholders then are offered the opportunity to vote on the pay packages, though in most cases — as with last week’s rebuke of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s windfall related to the company’s pending merger with Paramount — the votes are non-binding.
Zaslav, dating to his run as the top exec at Discovery Communications, has often ranked among the highest-paid CEOs in corporate America. He now stands to collect up to $886 million for shepherding the WBD merger, in addition to his regular 2025 pay. Lately, however, the trend goes far beyond a single poster child. The media and entertainment business has been forking over hefty sums to a wide range of leaders.
Other recent examples include Ari Emanuel, already a billionaire after taking Endeavor Group Holdings public in 2022 and then taking it private in 2025, pocketed $67.4 million in 2025 for steering TKO Group Holdings. The jump from $18.1 million in 2024 was due to a stock grant. Comcast Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh also saw his total compensation rise sharply, to $71.8 million from $28 million.
The 10.6% rise in median CEO pay for the entire S&P was up from the 7.5% increase in the prior year, ISS said. More than 74% of S&P 500 CEOs got a pay increase, while compensation fell for the remaining 26%. Pay went up by at least $10 million for 27 CEOs, while 21 chief execs saw their compensation more than double in 2025, the study found.
Defenders of the rich payouts point to the upswing in the broader markets, and indeed the rise in value for stock and option awards contributed significantly to CEOs’ comp levels. The market value of media and entertainment stocks remains suppressed, however, amid intensifying competition from tech and streaming companies. ISS-Corporate noted in its report that companies in the Media & Entertainment sector had a median negative total shareholder return of 28.6% in the same period when CEO pay more than doubled.
Median base salary for all S&P CEOs stood at $1.4 million, up 3.2%. The median stock award of $11 million and the median option award of $3.6 million represent increases of 10.7% and 5.3%, respectively.
“While most companies delivered positive shareholder returns in 2025, the magnitude of CEO pay increases highlights the degree to which stock and option awards continue to drive compensation decisions,” ISS-Corporate Managing Director Roy Saliba said in a statement. “In a more uncertain macro environment marked by tariff risk, geopolitical tensions, and softer growth outlooks, investors are likely to scrutinize whether elevated pay outcomes remain well-aligned with long-term performance.”